This invention relates to a process for reactivating agglomerated iridium-containing catalysts in series, involving the sequential steps of decoking a first catalyst to remove carbon desposits, reducing agglomerated iridium oxides formed during decoking on the catalyst surface to the free metal, pretreating the catalyst surface with a halide-providing compound in the absence of elemental oxygen, redispersing the iridium metal by contacting with elemental halogen in admixture with water vapor at elevated temperature and contacting a second catalyst, in series, with the effluent chlorine/water at elevated temperature to partially remove carbon deposits prior to a redispersion step.